Article of furniture



May 20, 1952 s. T. ANDERSON 2,597,277

ARTICLE 'OF FURNITURE Filed May 19, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 22 F F l ljiZhmentor STANLEY TA/VOEPSO/V ttomeg May 20, 1952 Filed May 19, 1951 S.T. ANDERSON ARTICLE OF FURNITURE 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 STANLEY TANDEPSO/Vaw/A/yz Gttorneg homes-considerably more emphasis Patented May 20, 1952UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

ARTIGLE 0F FURNITURE Stanley 'l. Anderson, Jamestown, N. Y., assignor toAlliance Furniture Company, Jamestown, N. Y;, "a corporation of NewYork.

Application May 19, 1951, Serial No. 227,235

'3 Claims.

, 1 This invention relates. toan article ofiurniture that is designed,and intended to be used under a variety of conditions. Moreparticularly,the invention is directed to an article of furniture of the chest typewherein is provided operative structure that .may be opened up orextended to enable use of the article not only as a storage chest, but.also as a desk .oras a dining table.

niture. manufacturers to design articles thathad multiple uses. Thedemand for such articles was partly due to the saving efiectcd by nothaving to purchase two or more separat articles for the same purposes.However, as the trend in home or dwelling size changed towards smalleror fewer roomsthisbeing particularly typified by-the many one, two, orthree room apartment is now placed on articles of furniture that occupyrela tively" little space and yet are capable of being opened orextended to adapt them to a variety of'uses.

It is with the latter type of article of iurnitu-re that the presentinvention is concerned; namely; the provision of an article in the formof a chest that, by means of adjustable and extendable parts, can betransformed into a writing desk or into a full size dining table.

It is an object of the invention to provide a chest having operableparts that enable use as a desk or table without in any way interferingwith or curtailing the storage space therein.

It is another object of the invention to provide a combined chest andextension dining table in which the supporting legs of the extensiontable, when not in use, will be confined within the chest limits andappear as a part of the chest structure and at the same time will lendornamental appearance to one face of the chest.

A further and important object of the invention lies in the provision ofa chest that not only includes extension slides and legs for a fulllength dining table, but is also provided with storage space for thenecessary leaves by which to form the tabletop.

Still further advantages of the invention lie in the provision of achest that not only includes operative structure to enable use as a deskor dining table but also adequate storage space in the form of acupboard and utensil drawer.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fullyunderstood from a consideration of the following specification; takenincon- 2 junction with the accompanying drawing; and in which I r Fig. 1is a frontelevational view of a chest in which one form of the inventionis'embodied;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. l, withthe leg supportedshelf in a partially extended position to enable use asa writing desk]; I

Fig.3 is a side elevational view of' the chest with the shelf fullyextended and leaves in place to provide a full size diningtable;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 3, parts ofboth chest and table top being broken away to disclose certainstructural details;

Fig. ,5 is an enlarged vertical transverse sec.- tional View of thechest,ls'howin'g the relationship of cupboard, d rawer, shelf, andleaves; being taken substantially 0n the line 55' of Fig.1; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of the storage area forthe supporting legs of the shelf and table.

Referring, more particularly to the drawing, the reference numeral H! isemployed tog'enerally designate a chest in which one form or thepresent. invention is embodied. The chestisagen- ,erally rectangular inshape andlincludes endwalls H, rear wall I2, and top [3. As viewed fromthe front, the chest appears. to be provided. with a top drawer I4 whichin reality, howe'ver, .is a door to a compartment I 6 locateddirectlybeneath the top 13', and in which are mounteda number of tableleaves. H. For. convenients'ton age and. handling, each leaf issupported: at...its

ends, on guides l8 that are attached in parallel spaced relation to theinner faces of the end walls H. The door I4 is top-hung at its ends on apair of pivot pins l9. These pins extend into recessed tracks in thesides 12 of the chest and enable swinging the door upwardly into ahorizontal position and then sliding it rearwardly over suitable guides21. It will be evident, from drawers which are actually door M and apron23. Depending from the forward end of the shelf are legs 21. These legsserve as a support for the shelf when it is extended into the positionshown in Fig. 2, the shelf herein constituting a desk top. A pair ofconventional slide units 29 are provided. Each unit, in the presentillustration of the invention, consists of forward or end members 29attached to the under face of the shelf 22, and rear end members 3| thatare secured to the fixed horizontal partition 32 located within thechest and forming the bottom wall to the compartment l6. The middlemember 33 of each slide is secured to a croSs bar 34, from the ends ofwhich depend intermediate legs 36. For convenience in the movement ofthis intermediate portion of the slide, legs 36 may be equipped withrollers 31.

Viewing the chest from the front (Fig. 1), it will be noted that adrawer 38 is located directly beneath the apron 23 and above a pair ofcupboard doors 39. This drawer is confined between a pair of verticalpartitions 4| which, in cooperation with end walls I form open-frontpockets 42 in which to receive the legs 21 and 36. The rear of each ofthese pockets may be closed by panels 43. The drawer 38 is mounted toslide on suitable guides carried by a horizontal partition 44. Thepartition 44 does not extend quite to the front of the chest and isconcealed by the lower edge of the drawer front 46. Inasmuch as thedrawer 38 is generally intended to be used for storage of silverware,several partitions 41 are shown. The cupboard doors 39 are hinged to thepartitions 4| and serve to close a lower storage compartment 48. Exceptfor the pockets 42 at the front of the chest, the compartment 48 is fullchest size and is provided, of course, with a bottom wall 49. Forconvenience, one or more shelves may be located in this compartment. Thebottom wall 49 of the compartment appears as an ornamental dividerbetween the doors 39 and'an ornamental apron 52.

Attention is again directed to Fig. 1 wherein it will be noted that dueto the construction of the chest, the end walls II and partitions 4|cooperatewith legs 21 to give an ornamental appearance. Also that doorI4 and apron 23 of the shelf 22, with the actual drawer 38, give theappearance of a storage chest having a series of upper drawers as wellas a compartment accessible by doors 39. I

For a better understanding of the advantages of the above set outinvention, a brief description of operation and use of the various partsis set out. It will be first noted that the contents of the compartment48, or the contents of the drawer 38, are easily accessible. Should itbe desired to utilize the chest as a desk, it is merely necessary tograsp knobs 26, attached to the apron 23, and withdraw shelf 22 from thechest. The shelf may be withdrawn to any extent de sired, as shown inFig. 5, but preferably to the extent shown in Fig. 2. It is quiteevident that any articles placed on the chest top |3 need not be removednor disturbed in any way when it is desired to withdraw the shelf 22.Thus, it is entirely practical to superpose an ornamental or other typecabinet or shelf on the chest for the purpose of providing additionalenclosed space. At such time as it is desired to utilize the chest as adining table, the shelf is withdrawn completely from the body of thechest and the extension slides 28 are moved to a position such assuggested in Fig.4 of the drawing. As movement of the shelf 22 iscontinued, legs 36 withdraw from the pockets 42 and ultimately occupy amidway position between the legs 21, supporting shelf 22, and the frontof the chest. With the shelf and extension slides in this position, itis merely necessary to open the door l4, remove leaves l1 and lay themon the slides 28 in abutting relation. In this manner the full sizedining table is made complete. Due to the support provided by the chestat one end, the legs 21 at the other end, and the intermediate legs 36,the table, throughout its length, will be wholly stable under any andall weight or strain to which such tables are normally subjected. Whenit is desired to retract the table, the leaves H are returned to thecompartment l6, and door |4 lowered into its closed position. It is nowmerely necessary to push inwardly or toward the chest on the shelf 22.Such movement retracts the slides 28 and as they are retracted, legs 36first enter the pockets 42 and ultimately, when the apron 23 becomesflush with the face of the chest, legs 21 enter these pockets. Thearrangement of the movable parts is such that when they are retractedthey are either flush with the chest front or are in such relationshipas to present an attractive and ornamental appearance.

Although applicant has shown and described only one form of hisinvention, it will be understood that variations in drawer andcompartment size, as well as .other details relating to style ratherthan construction, may be made and are contemplated insofar as they areencompassed by the annexed claims.

Having thus set forth my invention, what I claim as new and for which Idesire protection by Letters Patent is:

1. An article of furniture in the form of a chest, vertical partitionsat the front corners of said chest cooperating with the chest end wallsto form front opening pockets, a horizontal partition extending from onechest and wall to the other and cooperating with the top of said chestto provide a front opening compartment, extendable members forming slideunits, the innermost members of said units being secured on saidhorizontal partition, a shelf secured on the outermost members of saidunits, an apron depending from the front edge of said shelf, a first setof legs depending from the front corners of said shelf, a second set oflegs depending from intermediate members of said units, said sets oflegs being contained in said pockets when said shelf and said units arefully retracted, said first set of legs serving to close said pockets, adoor for said compartment, said door and combined shelf and aproncooperating to close said compartment and constitute the ornamentalupper front portion of said chest when said shelf and said sets of legsare fully retracted.

2. An article of furniture in the form of a chest, vertical partitionsat the front corners of said chest cooperating with the chest end wallsto form front opening pockets, a horizontal partition extending from onechest end wall to the other and cooperating with the top of said chestto provide a front opening compartment, extendable members forming slideunits, the innermost members of said units being secured on saidhorizontal partition, a shelf secured on the outermost members of saidunits, an apron depending from the front edge of said shelf, saidcompartment being adapted to receive and contain said shelf and saidslide units and provide space thereabove for a set of leavesindividually removable for placement on said slide units when themembers thereof are extended, a first set of legs depending from thefront corners of said shelf, a second set of legs depending fromintermediate members of said units, said sets of legs being contained insaid pockets when said shelf and said units are fully retracted, saidfirst set of legs serving to close said pockets, a door for saidcompartment, said door and combined shelf and apron cooperating to closesaid compartment and constitute the ornamental upper front portion ofsaid chest when said shelf and said sets of legs are fully retracted.

3. An article of furniture in the form of a chest, vertical partitionsat the front corners of said chest cooperating with the chest end wallsto form front opening pockets, a horizontal partition extending from onechest end wall to the other and cooperating with the top of said chestto provide a front opening compartment, extendable members forming slideunits, the innermost members of said units being secured on saidhorizontal partition, a shelf secured on the outermost members of saidunits, an apron depending from the front edge of said shelf, a first setof legs depending from the front corners of said shelf, a second set oflegs depending from intermediate members of said units, said sets oflegs being contained in said pockets when said shelf and said units arefully retracted, said first set of legs serving to close said pockets, adoor for said compartment, said door and combined shelf and aproncooperating to close said compartment and constitute the ornamentalupper front portion of said chest when said shelf and said sets of legsare fully retracted, a drawer between said pockets located directlybeneath said horizontal partition, a further open-front compartmentbeneath said drawer, the opening into said further compartment beinglimited in width to the space between said pockets, and doors carried bythe inner walls of said pockets, said doors cooperating to close saidfurther compartment, said first set of legs, the front of said drawerand said doors constituting the ornamental front portion of said chestbeneath said apron.

STANLEY T. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 127,761 Goodnow June 11, 1872574,759 Pickett Jan. 5, 1897 1,409,871 Teatherman Mar. 14, 1922

